Hats and caps have seen a huge increase in popularity since Boardwalk Empire came on the heals of the Americana workwear movement. There has been a steady stream of quality visuals showing men the various styles and looks. It encourages them to try a hat and gives them the added confidence to pull it off. It isn't just 'old guys" wearing them. And soon we will have the new Great Gatsby movie. Many scenes just wouldn't look right without a hat. And, they look pretty good.

And why does that man have his hat on indoors? Because he is a gangster/gambler. Doesn't that say something?

- Grey 1960s Dobbs Golden Coach trilby, 7 1/4. The felt's really thick and luxurious, and holds whatever shape you put it in with no arguments. This one's got a wind string/trolley cord.
- Black 1960s Kevin McAndrew lord's hat, 7 1/8. Beaver felt. The ribbon was the same size as the Golden Coach felt, but I felt that it wasn't conductive to the shape of the hat so I folded it over halfway and redid the bow by hand. Got a nice frayed edge to the bow.
- Old trapper's hat, unknown vintage. No tags, no information whatsoever, but it's made of wool and a soft brown fur. Five panel construction. There aren't any cords to tie the two flaps together.
- Modern green corduroy cotton sporting cap. It has a snap front.

- Blue 1930s "Beaumont Hats by Tower Hat Corp." reverse taper fedora. Self-banded, easily the best hat I've ever seen. The blue rabbit felt has some white hairs thrown in for variety's sake.
- 1950s "shower-proof" bangora straw hat, 7 1/4. Had to replace the sweatband and steam it from inside to get some dents out. Ventilation holes on both sides.

There aren't that many hats in Mad Men. Draper's pinched fedora trilby hybrid looks all wrong on him, and since we are led to believe that hats went out of style with JFK I was surprised to see him still wearing one in the new series which is up to about 1969 now I think.

Back in the day, MAD Magazine referred to this type of hat as a "Madison Avenue crash helmet," if I remember rightly. And yeah, they were pretty scarce by 1969. But then, MADison Ave, the industry if not the street, was a stand-in for "the man." And "the man" wore a hat, if he felt like it. Still does.

Back in the day, MAD Magazine referred to this type of hat as a "Madison Avenue crash helmet," if I remember rightly. And yeah, they were pretty scarce by 1969. But then, MADison Ave, the industry if not the street, was a stand-in for "the man." And "the man" wore a hat, if he felt like it. Still does.

If you google that term (with quotes) you find that modern sources are using it with reference to a narrow brim hat with a centre crease around 1963, but the publications of the time (mostly google scanned newspapers, featuring what looks like a PR release in news form from October 17th 1958) are using it for a smart Derby hat.

The Derby would make more sense in in terms of the "crash helmet", when you consider what the original Derby hats were designed for.

^Fair amount of crossover in hat styles. The homburg, once it ceased to be German folk costume, was first a ladies' hat, then was masculinized. I know for many years Indian women in Bolivia commonly wore derbies/bowlers and may still for all I know.